Merchandise-holder.



PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

D. P. GREENAWALT. MERCHANDISE HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED 001 .25. m.

N TOR A YTOR/VEYS DAVID F. GREENAWALT, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

MERCHANDISE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907.

Application filed October 25. 1906- Serial No. 340.583.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID F. GREENA- WALT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at York, in the county of York and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful l\. [erchandise-I-Iolder,of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of the present invention isto provide a protectingcase or holder for the reception of rolls of silk or other articles ofmerchandise, the case or holder being I so arranged as to protect thecontents by precluding the entrance of dust or dirt, by

' excluding moisture and light, and, when the article is in roll form,preventing the formation of wrinkles.

. A further object of the invention is to pro vide amerchandise holderin the form of a case made of sheet material or the like which may berolled, lapped or folded for the purpose of accommodating rolls ofarticles of any diameter and which may be contracted as the size of theroll or other article is gradually decreased through sales.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a flexible case orholder which may be secured in position at any convenient point, eitheron a wall, counter, table, rack or withina suitable casing as desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a casing or holderformed of relatively stiff material adapted especially for containingrolled silk or other fabric, and which may serve not only as a means forinclosing and protecting the fabric, but will, also, hold the samesmooth and free from wrinkles.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructionand arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims, it being understood that various changes in the form,proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of acasing or holder constructed in accordance with the inven tion, partsbeing broken away in order to more clearly illustrate the construction.Fig. 2 is a similar view With the case open, showing the manner in whichthe goods may be withdrawn, without the removal of the entire roll fromthe holder. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the holder. Fig. 4 is.aview similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a slight modification.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingarts throughout the several figures of the thawmgs.

The casing or holder is provided with a back piece, which in the presentcase is shown in the form of a strip 10, and said strip may be securedin any suitable position to any support as by bolts 12 and may bearranged either vertically or horizontally, or in any other position.Secured to this strip is a sheet 15 formed of any suitable material,such, for instance, as leather, leatherboard, oilboard, aluminium, orother sheet material, the material being sufliciently flexible to permitits being rolled properly around the fabric or other merchandise to beprotected. The central portion of the sheet is secured to the strip, andthe ends are arranged to overlap, the extent to which they overla beingcontrolled, of course, by the bulk of t 1e merchandise and when used forthe protection of rolls of fabric, the ends of the sheet will overlapmore and more as the diameter of the roll decreases through the sale ofthe goods.

The sheet is held in position around the roll by one or more straps 17,these being preferably provided with suitable take up buckles or hooksforming convenient fastenings which may be readily cast oil, andadjusted as the diameter of the holder decreases, so that the holder maybe pressed around the goods and hold the same free from wrinkles. Insome cases the sheet may be formed in two sections connected together bya hinge 20 at the back strip, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 4, or thesheets may be ar ranged to inclose packages of non-circular shape asrequired.

In order to support the silk or other article of merchandise when placedin vertical position, a suitable foot piece 22 is secured to the backstrip and extends under the lower end of the casing. This foot piece ispreferably formed of a pair of overlapping members, so that its area maybe gradually reduced as the diameter of the roll decreases. In order toprotect the top of the roll from dust, dirt and the like, a disk orother cover, such as 26, may be secured to the back strip as by nails27.

The device is found of considerable value in the protection of expensivearticles of merchandise, such, for instance, as silk or other textilefabrics, and Will thoroughly protect the same from exposure, so that theouter portion of the roll Will not be soiled and rendered unfit forsale. In use, the roll as a Whole may be removed from the casing, ifdesired, but the casing is preferably formed of material of sufficientstiffness to retain the roll While the desired quantity is drawn off, asshown, for instance, in Fig. 2.

' I claim 1. A merchandise holder comprising a flexible sheet rolled toform a tubular casing of variable diameter, adjustable securing meansfor maintaining the same at the desired diameter, and an exterior rigidsupport attached to the sheet and bearing thereon throughout its length.

2. A merchandise holder comprising a flexible sheet rolled to form atube of variable diameter, adjustable securing means for the foldablecasing, a longitudinal strip secured to the casing, and a flexiblesecuring band encircling the casing and held in place by said strip.

5. A merchandise holder comprising afoldable casing, a longitudinalstrip attached thereto, and a base and ca secured, respec tively, to theextremities o the strip for closing the ends of the casing.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

DAVID F. GREENAWALT. Witnesses:

EIIUME TALBERT, M. J. WARRINER.

